Gate



Sept. 3,' 1935.

E. LE- R. HARRINGTON GATE Filed May 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I l I l I ||Illl|l||lIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I III.

ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 3,1935. E LE R. HARRINGTON GATE Filed May 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims. (01. 221-145) This invention relates to a novel gate which is particularly applicable to material handling equipment such as bins, hoppers, buckets and the like which have bottom discharge openings thru which the material feeds by gravity. The invention has been developed in connection with a bucket for use in handling concrete so that the specific embodiment herein disclosed will relate to that type of equipment. However, I wish it to be understood that the principles of the invention could be employed equally well in other types of equipment which present similar problems. The invention is particularly useful, as will appear hereinafter, where the load within the container is especially heavy and presses with considerable force against the gate.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a gate of the character indicated which to shut off the flow of material, if it is not desired to entirely empty the container.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a gate of "the flexible belt or apron type having a novel and greatly improved supporting means for the belt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gate construction of the type just indicated in which the supporting means for the belt is adequately protected from tainer. 7

Still another object of the invention is to provide a belt type gate in which the belt can be quickly, easily and inexpensively repaired or replaced.

Another obgtect resides in the provision of a 'gate construction of such a nature as will make use of the material which flows past the end of the gate while in open or partially open position to aid in keeping it sufiiciently clean so as to facilitate a closing operation while material is being discharged.

A still further object is to provide a gate of the belt type in which leakage of material can be reduced to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to greatly simplify a gate construction of the character described, especially with respect to the belt itself, while at the same time, increasing its strength and durability. As an incident to this object of the invention, I provide means whereby it is possible to use a flexible belt or apron without employing strengthening ribs or equivalent structures in the belt itself.

The foregoing objects, together with such other objects, as may appear hereinafter or are incident the contents of the con-' to my invention, are obtained by means of a. construction which is illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a concrete handling bucket, partly broken away at the bottom to illustrate certain details of the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the structure of Figure 1, also with a portion of the lower 'part of the bucket broken away, in order to illustrate certain features in vertical section.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the structure of Figures l and 2.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the gate almost but not quite in fully open position.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view looking approximately' in thedirection indicated by the line 5--5 in Figure l, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view looking approximately in the direction indicated by the line 6-6 in Figure 1.

The bucket illustrated in the drawings includes an outer cylindrical shell 1 which may be suspended and transporwd by means of the bail 8. To the inside of this shell is secured a hopper portion ll] of conical shape as shown which has a bottom discharge opening I l, the lower edge of which is of arcuate configuration, as indicated at l2 in Figure 4. As will be seen the conical hopper extends from a point substantially mid-way of the shell I to within a short distance of the bottom. The lower outer portion of the shell is provided with suitable legs I3 which are adapted to support the bucket with the bottom of the conical portion clear of-th-e ground or floor and, as

will be seen, the arrangement is such as to provide a suitable space between the discharge opening and the floor in which is disposed certain portions of the gate structure to be described hereinafter. The .lower portion of the shell I which surrounds the conical bottom may be cut out to provide the openings M if so desired, in order to lighten the construction or to accommodate portions of the gate when in open position where that may be necessary.

The gate includes the flexible belt or apron l5 and the opening, closing and supporting structure therefor which will now be described. One edge of the belt is secured to the hopper l0 adjacent one side of the discharge opening. If desired this edge may be rigidly secured to the hopper but I prefer to pivotally secure it by means of the fiat hinge-like members l6 which swing on the pivot bar I! carried in the brackets l8 on the hopper.

The side members I9 of a frame Construction are pivoted for swinging movement upon the pins 20 which latter are carried at opposite points on the upper portion of the conical bottom. The pins, preferably, are located in an axis which coincides with that from which the arcuate bottom edge l2 of the discharge opening was struck. Between the lower edges of the side members l9 are mounted a plurality of rollers 2| which rotate upon supporting bars or rods 22. Each roller may consist of two adjacent parts as shown in Figure 2, although this is not essential, and they are supported on the rods 22 by means of the internal bushings 23. Where the bucket is of large size, I prefer the two-part construction for therollers 2| as this enables me to provide an intermediate supporting member 24 which may be carried on the cross members 215 in the frame. However, where the bucket is,- of rather small capacity, this intermediate support may not be neccessary and the rollers 2| may be made in one piece. The ends of the bars 22 are, of course, mounted in the side members 19, as clearly shown in Figure 2 and a shield |9a is provided along the ends of the rollers at each side member I9 such shield being scalloped as at l9b to project downwardly between adjacent rollers. This aids in preventing the concrete from reaching the rollers.

The opposite edge of the flexible belt or apron which, during opening and closing movements, is the free or movable edge of the belt, is secured to the gate framework by means of the hinge members 26 which pivot upon the rod 21 extending between the extreme left-hand edges of the side members H], as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The method of securing this movable end of the belt is essentially the same as that which was employed at the opposite or fixed edge. When the gate is closed, as shown in Figure 1, the belt l5 lies between the bottom edge of the discharge opening and the upper surfaces of the supporting rollers 2|.

The side members [9 are interconnected above the pivot pins 20 by means of the yoke-shaped operating handle 28 which extends upwardly to one side of the bucket to a position within easy reach of the operator where a latch 29 is provided for holding it in the upper position illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 which, of course, is the closed position for the gate. When it is desired to open the gate, the latch 29 can be tripped by means of a handle 30.

The operation of the device is as follows, assuming that the bucket is loaded and supported upon the bail 8 in position for a dumping operation. The handle 30 is moved to release the latch 29 and the operator pulls down on the handle 28 so as to swing the framework of the gate upwardly and outwardly around the pivot pins 20, as

indicated in Figure 4. As the several rollers ride clear of the right-hand edge of the discharge,

opening. In Figure 4 this wide open position has not been quite fully attained.

If desired, the operator can close the gate before the bucket is completely emptied or he can partially close it in order to regulate the rapidity of discharge, the construction being such as to permit this operation to take place freely and,

easily and without any jamming effect, as is so often encountered with the gates of the prior art. Indeed during movement of this kind, the flow of the material over the end of the gate actually aids in keeping the belt clean so that there is no difiiculty in forcing the belt gradually upwardly as the rollers advance toward the closed position. It will be observed that the rollers are always protected from the concrete, even the one at the left-hand end over which the belt falls, never coming into contact with the material being handled. As a result, clogging is never encountered.

It should also be noted that the opening and closing movements are not of a sliding nature with reference to the bottom edge of the discharge opening or with reference to the column of discharging material. The action is more like a progressive folding of the belt in the opening direction and a progressive unfolding of the belt in the closing direction. The belt is well supported by means of the rollers which can be made of sufiicient size and supplied in suflicient number to adequately support the load regardless of the size of the bucket. Since the rollers are the supporting means for the load, the belt itself does nothave to be reinforced by rib construction of any kind which latter always increases the complication of the device as a whole, as well as the cost of manufacture and repair.

I claim:

1. In a gate for controlling the flow of material from a bottom dumping hopper, the combination with the margin or rim of the discharge opening of said hopper, of a flexible closure member adapted to be seated upwardly against said rim, and supporting means for said flexible closure member including a frame and a plurality of rollers movable back and forth beneath the opening, one end of said flexible closure. member being attached to the hopper bottom and the other end to the frame of the supporting means and said supporting means with its rollers being constructed and arranged to progressively seat and support said flexible member against the rim in effecting closure of the opening and to progressively release said flexible member in effecting opening thereof.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the closure member is pivotally attached to the hopper bottom and to the frame.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the frame of the supporting means is pivotally connected to the hopper.

4. In a bucket having an arcuate bottom discharge opening, thecombination with the arcuate edges of said opening, of a frame pivoted to swing beneath said opening, said frame carrying a plurality of rollers mounted in an arc corresponding to the arc of the opening upon axes which parallel said pivot, and a flexible closure member adapted to be held by said rollers against said arcuate edges in order to snugly close said opening, said flexible closure member having one edge fastened to the bucket adjacent one end of the arcuate opening and the opposite edge fastened to the frame at the side thereof which leads during closing movement.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein the edges of the flexible closure member are pivoted at the points where they are fastened to the bucket and the frame.

EDWARD LE ROY HARRINGTON. 

